TYSON SMITH

I grew up on the east coast of the South Island near Cheviot (cultural capital of New Zealand).  Initially starting out on homemade polystyrene guitars and miming along with "Money For Nothing" and "Beat It" for unsuspecting family friends, I began learning on the real thing at age 9. It wasn't long before I was regularly making the 100km journey to Christchurch for lessons (thanks mum!) as well as performing duets with my sister, flautist Tamara Smith. ​I relocated to Christchurch for my final high school years and to attend the CPIT Jazz School, continuing to immerse myself in the local music scene. For some of this time I lived with a Peruvian family, learning Spanish and also playing guitar in their uncle's salsa band. In 2003, after performing around Christchurch in various ensembles ranging from pseudo-flamenco duos to 8-piece funks bands, I decided it would be a good idea to invest in a cheap Tuxedo and fly to New Orleans. Over the next 3 years I could be found performing in cruise ship showbands afloat the Caribbean or Mediterranean, or soaking up influences in Central America, Cuba and the USA. During a few months in New York I took lessons from some of the city's top guitarists (including John Abercrombie, Mike Stern, Ben Monder and Wayne Krantz) and funded nightly pilgrimages through the snowy streets to various music venues by busking in the subway. After relocating to Wellington in 2006, I began working on recording and performing my own original music as well performing with a range of other acts. I toured extensively both locally and internationally with singer Hollie Smith and also played for various productions in both Theatre and TV.  In 2009 I produced my first album documenting original compositions from the previous several years. In late 2014 I released my second album "The Hollow Tree".  I have also produced an album for my sister's group Mundi (with whom I used to regularly perform) and have an album with The Electrons coming soon, as well as other solo recordings.  I perform regularly around a variety of New Zealand festivals including Splore, Shipwrecked and Relish.  As well as teaching music locally, I have also done two guest residencies at Musicmatters school in Sri Lanka.  Contact me at tyson@tysonsmith.co.nz for all gig and lesson enquiries.